What Next | Daily News and Analysis

How Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani upset the better-connected, better-funded, better-known candidate in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary—and how he might actually govern if he makes it into office. Guest: Ross Barkan , contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine columnist, and Editor-in-Chief of The Metropolitan Review. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Pl...

When news broke that the United States had bombed Iran, members of Congress—the only people who can authorize war according to the Constitution—found out at the same time as the rest of us. What can they do to wrest this authority back; and where is this war with Iran headed now? Guest:  Mark Warner , Democratic Senator from Virginia and Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Want mor...

A jury recently found Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages to the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline for its role in the Standing Rock protests.  But the ramifications extend far beyond Greenpeace. As protests against various Trump administration policies heat up across the country, what does this lawsuit say about how opponents can weaponize the courts to criminalize pro...

The Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. While the Pentagon says these facilities are severely damaged, a diplomatic end to the conflict and a nuclear disarmament agreement feel less possible than ever. Guests: ⁠ Gregory Gause ⁠ , Visiting Scholar at the ⁠Middle East Institute⁠ and ⁠ Professor Emeritus of International Affairs ⁠ for the Bush School of Government and Public Serv...

ARC, the data broker owned by the country’s major airlines, has been selling domestic flight data in the US to Customs and Border Protection. But in the contract, they told CBP not to reveal where the data was from… why?  Guest: Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media and the co-host of the 404 Media Podcast.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole Wh...

Listen to What Next via Apple Podcasts , Spotify , TuneIn , Stitcher , Overcast , Google Play , or iHeart . America’s most machismo and gas-guzzling car, the Hummer, has been relaunched as an electric vehicle. But who is this electrified megatruck really for? Guest: Alex Sammon , Slate features writer This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not...

The Trump administration's anti-immigration campaign has become defined by distasteful memes that gleefully portray the mass deportations being carried out across the country. It’s impossible to ignore… which is exactly what the administration wants.  Guest: Drew Harwell, tech reporter at the Washington Post.   Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the who...

As What Next celebrates Juneteenth, please enjoy this episode ⁠from our colleagues at Hit Parade⁠ . What Next will be back in your feed on Monday. Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ...

As the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem has made herself the official face of the Trump administration’s military crackdowns on protesters in Los Angeles, raids in majority-Democratic cities, and the deportations of student activists. How has she been able to consolidate so much power so quickly? Guest: Seth Tupper , Editor-in-Chief of the South Dakota Searchlight Ahilan Ar...

On Friday, Israel launched massive strikes in Iran, targeting nuclear sites and killing top military leaders in the largest single-day attack on the country since the 1980s. Iran has retaliated, launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities and killing at least eight people. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is walking a tightrope as it tries to maintain its alliance with Israel and negotiate a...

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, accusing members of serving industry interests and never recommending against a vaccine. Their role, however, was advising on usage for vaccines that the FDA already approved.  As RFK Jr. restaffs the committee with his own “nonpartisan” members, where does that leave vaccines and...

A guide to keeping your phone, and your digital life, safe when you’re crossing the border. Guest: Lily Hay Newman , senior writer for WIRED covering information security. Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next?  Guest: Makena Kelly , senior writer at WIRED.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate pod...

Donald Trump is sending the troops to California, while also getting ready for a big birthday parade—for himself and the US Army—in DC. Does grasping for symbols of military strength smack a bit of desperation?  Guests: Jamelle Bouie , columnist at the New York Times Jeremy Lindenfeld , reporter and Capital and Main local news fellow. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free...

In Gaza, two million people are at risk of starvation, as Israeli-controlled aid has been repeatedly interrupted and marked by violence towards aid workers and chaos at distribution sites.  Guests:   Mohammed Mhawish , journalist and writer from Gaza City. Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, author of the 2017 book, M...

After years of bigger floats and bigger rainbow-ified logos, corporate sponsorship for Pride Month celebrations is dropping off this year. But, given that Pride is the commemoration of an uprising against police harassment, maybe that’s a good thing. Guests:   Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and the host of Outward , Slate’s podcast about LGBTQ+ life, and Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs ....

When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizabeth Goitein , co-director of the Liberty and Natio...

Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not for the same reasons as her predecessors.  Guest:   Nancy Scola , reporter and contributing writer at POLITICO .  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcas...

Sean Diddy Combs’s trial in New York started about a month ago and was expected to take about two months, so here at the halfway mark, we check in with a Slate correspondent who has been on the scene at the courthouse. Guest: Nadira Goffe , staff writer of culture at Slate. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusi...

One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instead organize data using tools offered by companies like Palantir. The thing is, a lot of those silos are there by design, and removing them could be a nightmare for privacy advocates.  Guest: Sheera Frenkel , tech reporter for the New York Times. Want more...

Since January, the Trump administration has suspended the right to claim asylum at the southern border. One narrower form of protection—for those who had been tortured by their governments—was supposed to remain. But lawyers have realized that even that appears to be gone. Guest:  Mark Betancourt, freelance reporter covering immigration from DC, who wrote “ This Ethiopian Woman Was Tortured by Her...

After 20 months of war, with violence erupting far from the Middle East, where is the future of Zionism headed? Guest:  Isaac Saul, Tangle executive editor and author of “ I think I’m leaving Zionism, or Zionism is leaving me .” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Appl...

Five years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide protests, the legacy of that movement is still being written in Minneapolis and America writ large—even as some attempt to erase it. Guest:   Marcia Howard , president of the teacher chapter of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Brandt Williams , senior editor covering race, class and communities for MPR News.   Want more What Next? Subscri...

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: voter discontentment at the two major parties is creating an opening for a far-right populist with an anti-immigration, protectionist agenda that economic experts warn would be devastating.  With a Trump trade deal in hand, can Keir Starmer and Labour give British voters something to vote for, rather than just against? Guest: Anand Menon , professor of Euro...

His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career.  Guest: Kate Conger , reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podc...